This idyllic view of elegant trees and a peaceful lake is one of a number of related scenes painted by Corot at this period. The lake is one of those at Ville-d'Avray near Paris, the location of Corot’s family home, and the trees are based on a drawing he had made at Civita Castellana during his first visit to Italy in 1825–8.
In this particular example, which was painted late in the series, Corot has reduced the single birch trunk at the right and the trunk reaching out across the picture to stylised, decorative elements. Both the man in his punt and the woman reaching up to gather twigs make frequent appearances in the artist’s work. The streaks of orange in the boat and in the woman’s cap create bright accents in the pervading silvery green tonality of the scene.
Text extracted from the ‘Provenance’ section of the catalogue entry in Sarah Herring, ‘National Gallery Catalogues: The Nineteenth Century French Paintings’, vol. 1, ‘The Barbizon School’, London 2019; for further information, see the full catalogue entry.
C. Baker and T. Henry, The National Gallery: Complete Illustrated Catalogue, London 2001
Crafted entirely from composition in France in the mid-nineteenth century, this frame is a small-scale reproduction of a Louis XV style frame. Corot is regarded as a forerunner of the Barbizon School of painters, a group renowned for their depictions of picturesque landscapes. The ‘Barbizon’ frame surrounding Corot’s painting reflects this focus on nature, with delicate floral motifs sprawling across its swept outlines. The back edge is adorned with a stylised shell motif in a fluted design, topped with S- and C-scrolls that showcase its craftsmanship. Between the corner and centre cartouches, shell motifs and leaves rest on an intricately cross-hatched profile that rises towards the sanded flat, accentuated by a French acanthus-leaf pattern along the sight edge.
Soon after the frame’s arrival at the Gallery, it was modified to include a glazing door to protect the artwork. In 1980 the frame underwent its first repair. Made for Corot’s The Leaning Tree Trunk, this is considered the original frame for this painting.
If you know more about this painting or have spotted an error, please contact us. Please note that exhibition histories are listed from 2009 onwards. Bibliographies may not be complete; more comprehensive information is available in the National Gallery Library.
